The Labor enquirer., 1887-06-25
Prossisused Patriosisrn.

wore tOnlo tWthtl yS"so "bSf "es~ '~"
much veneration they had for that flag
now. Sunday morning and evening, Mon
day afternoon and evening their best elo-
auonce was dedicated to the memories Of
the dead past. Yet with the exception of
two fve-minute campfire talks, there was
not uttered single idea that could carry
lesson in practical patriotism. These
who dared express thoughts for to-day
we're insulted, slurrea and misrepresented
by the bigoted prostitutes of patriotism
who followed.
The eloquent divines from the pulpit in
the travail of their souls brought forth
chiefly wi ld OF the Salvation Army glory
hallelujahbig -Injun-me-style. A huge
premium could safely have been placed on
n single fertilizing idea.
Glowing eulogies we're given on the long
line OF generals and men OF blood, such as
"Black jack Logan, the best 'nigger"
persecuter in Illinois at the breaking out
of the war. This Logan introduced and
engineered bills through the Legislature to
fine and imprison any lover of freedom
who fed, comforted or aided n runaway
slave. These bigoted copperheads, who
thought the flag and constitution good
enough for them when they protected four
million slaves, who we're only kept out of
the rebel army by their surrounding in
nuences, we're lauded to the skies as mod
els. After circumstances forced them
against their sympathies into the right
side, then because their natural energy,
which had hitherto been expended in
fighting freedom, developed them into
good bull dogs, they are held up before
our children as the idols demanding rev.
erence.
,. Their sophomore gush greatly resem'
bled set OF school boys having mock
"Fourth of July" at lyceum, where the
dashing young bloods were vying to see
oric.
One "comrade" with heavy inspira-
tion, secured at the drug store, since the
prohibitory law went into effect, literally
tore passion to tatters in fifteen sec
onds. He charged up and down the ros-
trum, his collar jerked OF, his sleeves
rolled up, his coat and vest unbuttoned to
the breeze while he madlt shrieked: 1T
has been said that flag Is rag! II was
good thing II was not said in my pres
once. The miserable, low-lived, sniveling,
pusillanimous puke," etc, etc, ad nase'im.
Citizen George W. Logan, an outsider,
was called to the platform to insure one
good speech. Mr.. Logan is addicted to
the habit of thinking-a crime unknown
to most of Qucnemos q. A. X. men-and
he has recently developed into first rate
Socialist. lie told them the war was
caused by human greed. This greed was
crystalized in the slave trade. He warned
that this greed was not killed. It was liv-
ing and growing in different form to-
day. He said patriotism was loyalty to
truth and Justice. This made the bigoted
flag.worshipers mad. The way they
charged ON him was wonderful to see.
eComradc" Morehcad warned against
the insidious influences OF monopoly and
capitalism. He was slurred by puppet,
the chaplain Of the post, as "a Jeremiah
prophet, always weeping over impending
fates" lie accused all who would not
expend their energy in yelling like
blind parrot for the flag and telling silly
army stories, as unpatriotic, "never in
service more than six months or else
were drafted" and similar rot
sThey closed with the climax of incon-
sistency. They sang "John Browns body
lies mouldering, ETC., etc. After all
their squirt eloquence to prove that patri-
otism consists of superstition for
piece OF silk, star-spangled and striped,
they turned and sang the praises of the
man Of Osawatomie-John Brown-the
first in arms against the government, the
first to defy that flag, the leader of an
armed assault ON the government arsenal,
the criminal hanged for treason against
that flag years before JEFF Davis raised
the standard of revolt. The kind of pa
triotism lauded by the Quenemo G. A. r.
was the kind that drew the halter around
the neck of John Brown. John Browns
patriotism was loyalty to truth and JUS
tice. He did not worship nm emblem of
liberty" protecting foul Tyranny. He
fought for freedom not flags.
Wendell Phillips was another of those
souls that come as n spark from the very
spirit of Deity. But we heard not word
OF him, Of his heroism or Of his self-sacri-
hcing loyalty to freedom. We heard
nothing of how that devoted loyalty fore
cd him to take issue with the constitution
and government that enslaved four mil
lion souls. He was no superstitous en-